This week we attended the State of the Union 2020 address given by the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen.
The Speech “Building the World we want to Live in: a Vital Union in a Fragile World”, whose official translation is available here, is clearly based on the reaffirmation of the European values of trust, solidarity, fairness, justice, cooperation, good faith, stability.
It is a speech of recognition of challenges and adversities, but also a speech of hope and exhortation to a collective work that cannot be postponed.
Faced with a pandemic crisis that forced a disruptive change in our modus vivendi as citizens, workers, I would even say as people, with the need for confinement and a stop “by decree” of our economies, it is urgent to “get out of this fragile situation and gain a new vitality”.
Aware that "we have rediscovered the importance of what we have in common", "it is our opportunity to bring about change by the power of our will (...) creating new opportunities for the world of tomorrow and not just limiting ourselves to solving the contingencies of yesterday's world”.
As Ursula von der Leyen pointed out, “the main priority must be to come out of this situation together” and “to deal with the pandemic with extreme care, responsibility and unity”. It is therefore essential to build a stronger health union and to strengthen the European capacity in terms of crisis preparedness and management.
The pandemic simultaneously showed the fragility of the global system and the importance of cooperation to overcome collective challenges. The EU has taken on the responsibility of leading the global response to the pandemic, uniquely mobilizing civil society, the G20, the WHO, more than 40 countries with the aim of mobilizing more than 16 billion euros to fund research on vaccines, tests and treatments for the entire world.
The belief in international bodies such as the UN, the WHO and the WTO was confirmed in a framework of the need to revitalize and reform the multilateral system, in a change through deliberation and not destruction.
The pandemic has also shown us that the European institutions can and do act swiftly and determinedly: the Commission proposed the NextGenerationEU program and a renewed budget in record time, the Council approved it in record time and the European Parliament has been working hard for voting him as soon as possible.
For the first time, and exceptionally, Europe has created its own common instruments to complement national fiscal stabilizers.
It was, in effect, a moment of remarkable unity and an “accomplishment of which we should collectively be proud”. It is therefore important to stay the course in the face of the uncertainty that we still live.
Economies need permanent political support and it is important to find a strict balance between providing financial support and ensuring fiscal stability.
And Europe can do it effectively on the basis of an “economy with humanity” that “protects from the great risks of life: illness, misfortune, unemployment or poverty”, in a social market economy that “provides stability and helps to better absorb shocks ”, an economy that “creates opportunity and prosperity”.
And with the statement that “the Union strives to protect everyone”, with a focus on people, “no one is left behind”, in SMEs, with the assertion that “the dignity of work must be considered sacred”.
Very relevant was the intention left behind to present a legislative proposal to help the Member States to create a European framework for the minimum wage.
The speech naturally addressed the challenges we face in the complex times we live as European individuals/citizens and society, in the sense of belonging to this space that brings together the 27 Member States.
I will address here the double ecological and digital transition, for its importance for individual citizens, for institutions, for companies, for States.
"The urgency of accelerated action for the future of our fragile planet" is embodied in the European Ecological Pact, the European plan to carry out the necessary transformation to make Europe the first climate-neutral continent by 2050, increasing the goal of reducing emissions in the 2030 horizon to at least 55%, based on the impact assessment carried out and which shows that the European economy and industry are able to do so. The goal for 2030 is thus “ambitious, achievable and beneficial to Europe”. Today we have “more technology, more expertise and more investment” and “we are already moving towards a circular economy with carbon neutral production”.
37% of the European recovery instrument “NextGenerationEU” will directly serve the objectives of the European Ecological Pact. “While we overcome difficulties together, we also have to be the force that drives us towards tomorrow's future. It is now our responsibility to implement and build a stronger world to live in – a world served by an economy that reduces emissions, stimulates competitiveness, reduces energy poverty, creates rewarding jobs and improves the quality of life. ”
In the space of a few weeks, we witness years of innovation and digital transformation. The purpose of making this the “Digital Decade of Europe” implies adopting a common plan for a digital Europe with clearly defined goals for 2030, such as connectivity, skills and digital public services, following clear principles: the right to privacy and to connectivity, freedom of expression, free movement of data and cybersecurity.
The investment of 20% of the European instrument for recovery in the digital sector is a sign of wanting to “lead the way, through Europe, towards the digital age”.
As the President of the European Commission highlighted, a true data economy is a powerful engine for innovation and the creation of new jobs.
Common data spaces are needed, which will help to support innovation ecosystems that universities, businesses and researchers will be able to access and collaborate on in the data domain.
The construction of a European cloud within the scope of the European recovery instrument, based on the GaiaX project, is therefore a purpose that should be leveraged as soon as possible.
Assuming digital leadership with a focus on three domains: data, technology (with emphasis on artificial intelligence and rules applicable to it) and infrastructure, namely with the expansion of 5G, 6G, fiber and investment in secure connectivity, is an unavoidable necessity. Everything weighed will ensure Europe's digital sovereignty.
With regard to these two great challenges, digital and ecological, I would like to reiterate here the importance of the role of the Public Administration in contributing to the above-mentioned goals, especially with the consolidation of the green procurement and e-procurement. We have to make our contribution to shaping the world we want to live in, a world in which we use digital technologies to build a sustainable and green society.
More than ever the Public administration, the fundamental foundation of a democratic and social rule of law, must live up to its responsibility to innovate, to continue to modernize, to train itself to efficiently and effectively provide a public service adjusted to the needs of citizens., as, incidentally, is evidenced in the Strategy for Innovation and Modernization of the State and Public Administration 2020-2023, available here.
For this to happen, it is necessary to to continue to invest in skills, namely digital, of workers in public and other emerging functions, it is essential to privilege management models of public organizations based on networking (and yes, this implies breaking down the silos that still exist) and it is necessary to provide the Administration with people and resources that are fundamental to the pursuit of its responsibilities.
Geostrategic issues were a touchstone, with reference to the great world powers China and Russia and the strengthening of the EU's uncompromising position on the values of democracy and human rights.
Ursula von der Leyen also referred to the need for “a new start with old friends” – on both sides of the Atlantic and on both sides of the English Channel.
He highlighted that the transatlantic alliance must be supported by a new transatlantic agenda and a reinforcement of a bilateral partnership in trade, technology and taxation.
As far as Brexit is concerned, he did not shy away from quoting Margaret Thatcher: “the United Kingdom does not tear up treaties”.
The complex issue of migration was tackled from a human and humanitarian point of view, with the commitment of the Commission to present, next week, the new Pact on Migration, leaving the challenge that migration is a European challenge and the whole of Europe must do your part.
The focus given in the final part of the speech to the rule of law, with the adoption before the end of the month of the first annual report that will cover all Member States, and the guarantee that the budget and NextGenerationEU money will be protected against fraud , corruption and conflict of interest, it seems to me to be withheld.
The speeches “We have a duty to be always attentive to care for and preserve the State and Law” and “European values are not for sale” are of special importance.
In the final stretch of the Speech, in a humanist bent, the President of the Commission highlighted that “progress in the fight against racism and hatred is fragile – conquered at great cost, but lost very easily”, so “the struggle against racism will never be optional”.
Furthermore, “being who we are is not a matter of ideology, it is our identity. And no one can deprive us of it.”
The Commission will therefore present a strategy to strengthen the rights of LGBTQI people and, in this context, mutual recognition of family relationships in the EU will be promoted – whoever is recognized as a parent in one country must be recognized as a parent in any other country. The fight against discrimination and inequality also goes through here.
From reading the State of the Union 2020 Discourse, I evoke the particularly happy expression used by Von Der Leyen: “Difference is the essence of humanity”.
The President of the European Commission ended her speech by stressing that “we are united in diversity and adversity".
The world we want to live in is one where we work together to overcome our differences and support each other when times are tough.
In a reference to the younger generation in Europe, he refers to the lesson that the youngest teach us: that of not allowing obstacles to prevent us from following our path, of not letting conventions block us, of seizing the moment to do it. what needs to be done.
“When we had the option to go it alone, as we did in the past, we used the combined strength of 27 countries to give those 27 countries an opportunity for the future. We showed that we are in this together and that we are going to get out of this together”.
“The future will be what we build. And Europe will be what we want it to be. So let's stop belittling it. And let's work for her. Let's make it stronger. And let us build the world we want to live in”.
In times of adversity, human beings are able to demonstrate the best of themselves and what they are capable of doing. May it rest on the courage, motivation, ingenuity, talent, dedication and confidence to, in honor of our predecessors, make this Europe the European project that we aspire for ourselves and for future generations.
Author: Inês Morais Pereira is a Jurist and Master's Student in Management and Public Policy
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